Transfer of a plurality of liquids

ABSTRACT

A chamber is provided with a plurality of conduits having nonhorizontal portions into which a fluid can be continuously charged to control movement of one or more other fluids as well as a rinsing fluid which may optionally be employed.

Unite States Patent Faure SFER ()F A PL i [56] References Cited QUNl'I'ED STATES PATENTS [72] Inventor: Jean-Marie Faure, 28, BoulevardAristide 2,180,042 1 1/1939 Ettinger ..417/96 X Briand, 9 l-Savigny S/Oge France 7 349,012 9/1886 Surratt... .....417/1 19 193,541 7/1877 Nale..417/119 [221 947,533 1/1910 Rodhe ..417/99 21 pp No.1 ,950 8/ 1 .,4 1Primary Examiner-- Alan Cohan 52 us. 01 ..137 205, 137/209, 137 240,Arrow-Waters, Roditi, Schwartz & Nissen 137/253, 417/92 51 1 Int. Cl...B67c 2/16, 1367c 1/04 [57] ABSTRACT [58] Field of Search... ..417/ 119, 99, 98, 97, 96; A chamber is provided with a plurality of conduitshaving nonhorizontal portions into which a fluid can be continuouslycharged to control movement of one or more other fluids as well as arinsing fluid which may optionally be employed.

3 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure TRANSFER A PLURALITY OF LIQUIDS The presentinvention relates to the transfer of a plurality of liquids.

In the present description and in the claims which follow, the wordtransfer will be employed to represent any operation implying thedisplacement of a liquid product such as, for example, the extractioninto a receptacle of a quantity of liquid, the distribution from a tankof a quantity of liquid or simply the displacement of a liquid in asystem of conduits, with a view, for example, to its analysis, to itsmixture with other liquids or to its distribution.

In the present state of the art, it is known that the displacement of aliquid inside a chamber such as a conduit is effected by causing thevolume of the said chamber to vary,either by mechanically displacing arigid wall of the said chamber forming a piston, or by deforming aflexible wall of the chamber (the case of peristaltic pumps which deformcalibrated tubes having a flexible elastic wall) or of an auxiliarychamber with which it is in communication (the case of a pipetteconnected to a rubber bulb or to a flexible elastically deformableflask).

In addition, if the various chambers must be rinsed after one or moretransfers of liquid, it is necessary to connect an additional conduit toeach of these chambers in order to bring the rinsing liquid into it.This assumes therefore that it is possible to close or open each ofthese conduits at will, whichis also carried out, in the present stateof the art, by a mechanical means acting individually on each of theseconduits.

All known devices designed for the purpose of insuring the transfer of aliquid thus comprise mechanical means acting on a chamber containing theliquid or on an auxiliary chamber. This is a source of frequentmalfunctions, especially due to wear or deformation of the members. Inaddition, if it is desired to carry out the transfer of a plurality ofliquids, it is necessary to employ a plurality of chambers of variablevolume, equipped with as many actuating means, unless the transferoperations of the different liquids are carried out in sequence with thesame chamber. This latter type of operation is particularly notpractical if these operations must be repeated a large number of timesas, for example when it is desired to analyze numerous liquid productsin series with the same apparatus.

The present invention has as an object the overcoming of these drawbacksby providing a method and an apparatus which enable the transferoperations of a plurality of liquids to be carried out easily andsimultaneously.

According to the invention, in order to effect the simultaneousdisplacement of a plurality of liquids inside open chambers whichrespectively serve as their housing, the whole of these chambers isconnected by at least one conduit to a main chamber containing anauxiliary liquid, in such manner that the said auxiliary liquid passesinto a non-horizontal portion of the said conduit, and the level of thesaid auxiliary liquid is caused to vary in the said main conduit, sothat this liquid is displaced, forming a piston inside the said conduit.

The said liquids may be in direct contact with the auxiliary liquid, inwhich case the auxiliary liquid should be non-misci ble with the liquidsto be displaced and should be compatible with them. However, it is notin any way necessary for the auxiliary liquid to be in direct contactwith the liquids to be displaced, and it may be advantageous tointerpose between them a suitable gaswhich serves as a buffer. In bothcases, by acting on a single auxiliary liquid, the displacement of theliquid piston or pistons produces a suction or delivery effect in thechambers containing the liquids.

The conduit connected to the various chambers may either dip freely intothe auxiliary liquid, or may be connected in a fluid-tight manner toorifices in the said chamber.

In order to effect the displacement of the auxiliary liquid, any meansknown per se may be employed, for example a piston, a pump, or even, asis the case in the example which will be described below to explain in asimple manner a method of carrying out the invention, a tank connectedto the main chamber and capable of being displaced vertically.

A device for carrying into effect the method of the invention thuscomprises a main chamber containing an auxiliary liquid, means forvarying the level of the said auxiliary liquid in the said main chamber,conduits connected to the said main chamber in such manner that anon-horizontal part of each conduit may be filled with the auxiliaryliquid, each of the said conduits being connected individually to adifferent chamber containing a liquid which it is desired to displace.

The invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawing which is givenfor purposes of explanation and not in any limitative sense, and inwhich the sole FIGURE is a view of a diagrammatic device according tothe invention. 7

In the drawing, there is shown a receptacle 1 containing an auxiliaryliquid 2, mercury for example, which is connected at its base through aflexible tube 3 to a container 4 filled with the said liquid. Thiscontainer may be displaced vertically in order to vary the level of theliquid 2 in the receptacle 1.

In the liquid 2 contained in the receptacle 1 are immersed two verticalconduits 6a and 6b respectively. Each conduit is connected to anauxiliary chamber 7a or 7a respectively, into each of which pass twoconduits. The extremity of one set of these conduits, 8a and 8brespectively, passes into the lower part of the auxiliary chamber andprojects above the bottom of this chamber, while its other extremity 19aor 19b, respectively, is immersed in a liquid 9a or 9b respectively, ofwhich it is desired to take a definite quantity and which is containedin a receptacle 10a or 10b respectively.

To each of the chambers 7a and 7b is also connected a conduit 11a or11b, respectively, which opens into the corresponding chamber at a levellower than that of the extremity of the associated conduit 8a or 8b.

The conduits 11a and 11b are intended to make it possible to effect,when so desired, a simultaneous rinsing of the chambers 7a and 7b bymeans of an appropriate liquid. To this end, they are connected tovertical conduits 12a and 12b connected in turn to a single auxiliarychamber 12 into which opens a conduit 13 connected to a source of arinsing liquid such as water. The chamber 12 is filled with a secondauxiliary liquid 15, similar or not to the liquid 2, mercury forexample. The liquid 15 is obtained from a container 16 connected to thebase of the chamber 12 by a flexible conduit 17.

The operation of the device is as follows: with the levels of theliquids 2 and 15 occupying the relative positions shown in the drawing,it is only necessary to lower the container 4 in order to lower thelevel of the liquid 2 in the receptacle 1 to produce a simultaneoussuction effect in the chamber 7a and 7b and in the conduits 8a and 8bwhich are thus filled with liquid 9a and 9b, respectively, the overflowdelivering into the chambers 7a and 7b, After stopping the movement ofthe liquid 2, the tubes 8a and 8b can be extracted from the liquids 9aand 9b without any risk of emptying, on condition of course that thesections of their openings 19a and 19b respectively are not too large.

It is then only necessary to raise the container 4 in order to cause theliquid 2 to rise in the receptacle 1 and the expel the liquids containedin the tubes 8a and 8b which empty themselves simultaneously, thequantity of liquid delivered by each tube being equal to the internalvolume of the tube.

During these operations, there is only a very small displacement of theliquid 15, in the present case mercury, in the conduits 12a and 12b,which does not interfere in any way with the suction of the liquids 9aand 9b. The same practical result is obtained as if each conduit 12a and12b were individually closed by mechanical means.

in order to carry out a rinsing, the level of the liquid 15 in theconduits 12a and 12b and in the chamber 12 is lowered by lowering thecontainer 16. When the level of the liquid 15 has fallen below the levelat which the conduits 12a, 12b and 13 open into the chamber 12, therinsing liquid passes into the conduits 12a and 12b and proceeds torinse the chambers 7a and 7b and the conduits 8a and 8b.

As has already been indicated, the containers 4 and l6-can be replacedby other known means of varying the level of the liquids 2 andrespectively in the receptacles 1 and 12. Also, as has been mentionedabove, the tubes 6a and 6b could equally well be connected in afluid-tight manner to the receptacle 1, as the conduits 12a and 12b areconnected to the chamber 12. Finally, it is clear that although thisform of construction only provides for the simultaneous extraction oftwo liquids, any required number of liquids may be extractedsimultaneously by employing a corresponding number of conduits of thesame type as the conduits 6a and 6b, and their associated members.

A suction can also be applied in the conduits 8a and 8b in order to fillthem, by reducing the level of the liquid 15 in the receptacle 12 or bysimultaneously lowering the levels of the liquids 2 and 15.

The method and apparatus according to the invention may be combined withadvantage with an apparatus for dosing by colorimetry, for the purposeof effecting a plurality of dosings in series. To this end, it is onlynecessary, for example, to make the conduits 8a and 8b or the chambers7a and 7b of transparent material and to bring each corresponding partof these tubes or these chambers successively onto the path of the lightbeam of the dosing apparatus.

It will readily be understood that those skilled in the art may combinesuch a colorimetric dosing apparatus with a device of the same kind asthat which has just been described and comprising a plurality of tubes 8or chambers 7 disposed uniformly about a vertical axis, with respect towhich they are mounted pivotally, so as to obtain a unit capable ofeffecting dosages by colorimetry in series.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for effecting transfer of liquid, said apparatus comprisinga main chamber containing an auxiliary liquid, means for varying thelevel of the auxiliary liquid in said main chamber, a first conduitincluding a non-horizontal portion immersed in the auxiliary liquid, anauxiliary chamber, said first conduit opening into said auxiliarychamber, a further chamber containing a liquid to be displaced and opento the atmosphere, a second conduit immersed in the liquid in saidfurther chamber and extending into the auxiliary chamber, a thirdchamber containing a second auxiliary liquid, a conduit containing asupply of rinsing liquid opening into said third chamber, means forvarying the level of the second auxiliary liquid in the third chamberfor controlling flow of the rinsing liquid into said third chamber, anda third conduit having a non-horizontal portion immersed in the secondauxiliary liquid in the third chamber and extending into the auxiliarychamber to convey rinsing liquid to said auxiliary chamber.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 comprising a plurality of said main,auxiliary and further chambers, and a corresponding plurality of saidfirst second and third conduits.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the third conduit extendsinto the auxiliary chamber at a level below the level at which thesecond conduit opens into the auxiliary chamber.

1. Apparatus for effecting transfer of liquid, said apparatus comprisinga main chamber containing an auxiliary liquid, means for varying thelevel of the auxiliary liquid in said main chamber, a first conduitincluding a non-horizontal portion immersed in the auxiliary liquid, anauxiliary chamber, said first conduit opening into said auxiliarychamber, a further chamber containing a liquid to be displaced and opento the atmosphere, a second conduit immersed in the liquid in saidfurther chamber and extendIng into the auxiliary chamber, a thirdchamber containing a second auxiliary liquid, a conduit containing asupply of rinsing liquid opening into said third chamber, means forvarying the level of the second auxiliary liquid in the third chamberfor controlling flow of the rinsing liquid into said third chamber, anda third conduit having a nonhorizontal portion immersed in the secondauxiliary liquid in the third chamber and extending into the auxiliarychamber to convey rinsing liquid to said auxiliary chamber.
 2. Apparatusas claimed in claim 1 comprising a plurality of said main, auxiliary andfurther chambers, and a corresponding plurality of said first , secondand third conduits.
 3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the thirdconduit extends into the auxiliary chamber at a level below the level atwhich the second conduit opens into the auxiliary chamber.